Vampiros
by Gitana
Summary: "And I Love Her" sequel and final chapter. Buffy, now a vampire, needs her soul. Angel goes after Eve to keep Stella safe.
1. Something Irish

**By:** Gitana  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Timeline:** Ats S5/BTVS S7  
**Disclaimer:** Basically, it ALL belongs to Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon.

**Ch. 1 "Something Irish"**

Waving a big sword for practice Gunn made sure he was still strong enough to kill bad guys with just one hand. His body was strong, slowly becoming a weapon in itself. After Stella's birth and Buffy's departure, the gang avoided Wolfram & Hart's offices as much as possible. They planned a schedule so that everyone would be there at some point while someone stayed with Willow and the baby. They would all come and go from Wolfram & Hart to Lorne's apartment every day. Lorne was thrilled with the company.

Worried sick everyone pretended to ignore Eve's warning, but with every day that passed they became more anxious. Gunn never liked Eve, watching his daily training routine Fred knew he was ready for business if it came down to it.

"It's getting disturbing." Fred made the uncomfortable observation about Gunn, Willow agreed silently.

After a long and soothing bubble bath Lorne walked into kitchen to find Gunn threatening the bananas.

"Still?" Lorne asked.

"Still," the girls answered.

"Stella is not going to wake up anytime soon, ladies. Let's put her in her room," Lorne suggested.

"Stella Summers..." Willow said while looking at the blonde baby sleep.

"Why Stella Summers?" Angel asked startling everyone.

"Well, hi!" Fred greeted Angel.

"I _do_have the keys to the place that's housing my daughter. _Why_Stella Summers?" Angel asked again.

"Alliteration, always a winner," Lorne pitched in.

"Hmm, because that's the name you guys...chose?" Willow answered, confused.

"Stella, yes. Summers, not yet. I was thinking she could have my name."

"Which is?" Fred asked, legitimately curious.

"I don't know; something Irish."

"Well, when Buffy gets back you guys can get together and pick an Irish name," Willow suggested.

"Yeah. When Buffy gets back. We'll do that." Angel nodded.

Before Buffy stepped into the cave to face The Trials, Spike stopped her, acting on his unmistakable instinct.

"You're going to lose," he said. Both tired and depressed, Spike grabbed Buffy's thin arm and pulled her close. "You're drained. There's no chance in hell you'll make it through. You'll drop dead, Buffy. You won't survive this."

Vampire Buffy was so tired she was almost deaf, yet understood every word. She wanted to fight but she realized her state was fragile and pitiful. On the way to Africa Spike noticed Buffy's rapidly deteriorating appearance and he cursed himself for being naive enough to think she could actually make it.

"But my soul…"

"I know," Spike whispered.

Three days had passed but Buffy remained restrained. Not once had she attacked Spike or tried to get away. Spike looked at her with curiosity and undeniable tenderness, but he knew that she was up against the wall with a sword through her chest. No Slayer training could get her through this. The most important thing was for her to stay as human as possible, deny herself any of the temptations of her new state. She was mentally strong and physically weak, a good combination for the situation at hand, but she was still a vampire _and_ a Slayer. Spike could not forget this.

Desperate for a solution Spike talked to the locals. It was a foreigner who put an end to Spike's doubt. A man native from the Caribbean heard that a souled vampire was seeking an old legend that nobody else had heard about, except him. The man smiled through his teeth – he recognized the legend. Soon after his neon green eyes focused on Spike's worried blue eyes.


	2. Soul Mates

**Ch. 2 "Soul Mates"**

"I hear you're looking for some stuff, friend." The Man from the Caribbean said to Spike in his heavily accented English.

Spike stepped away from Buffy after making sure the chains were locked then walked over to the edge of a dark road, the man followed. "Mate, I need that legend to be true," Spike said quickly without any delusions of small talk.

"I heard," The Man replied, a little suspicious of what Spike was really looking for, which Spike noticed.

"I'm a good vampire now, mate. The soul's just for show." Spike smirked while taking one step closer to the mysterious, nameless man. "So just tell me what to do." Spike looked Buffy's way while he spoke, he didn't let her out of his sight.

"A good vampire..." The Man repeated under his breath. Spike was getting impatient. "You're doing this for her? Is she a good vampire too?" The man asked meaning Buffy.

"Uh huh."

"You want to clone a soul, yes?"

"I do."

"Look, friend, your legend is called _Harlow's Trick_. Harlow was a failed basement scientist, what he couldn't do in the physical world he did in the invisible one," The Man explained. While The Man normally didn't trust vampires, the tone in Spike's voice had convinced him to help him out. "Oh my, my, my... What you need I can't do. You need to find someone who knows how to perform such things."

"No problem. Is it dangerous?"

The Man sighed, "Not at all. The only trick, Harlow would've admitted, is to find someone trustworthy to do it for you. You don't want to be dealing with a soul stealer."

"Very wise, mate. Look, since you seem to know so much, what about the soul itself? I mean, what happens after it's done...if the soul belongs to a bad man?"

"Well, a soul does not make you bad or good. It makes you realize you're doing one or the other. The soul is many things, though basically it is a balancing element, an empathic field, a filter of emotions, a mirror for your inner thoughts. A soul allows you to own yourself. Without a soul there's no filter. You do what you do." The Man was curious about Spike. "You have a soul; I assume youknow these things."

"I killed, I ate and I loved. After the killing stopped, I got a soul, like I said, for show."

"You loved? While soulless, you mean?"

Spike nodded.

The Man smiled with understanding and curiosity. Trying hard to focus on the matter at hand, The Man assured Spike: "Yes, it will work," he said while pointing the way with his gaze. "Buena suerte, kid."


	3. Baby, I did it

**Ch. 3 - "Baby, I did it."**

"Lindsey? Baby?" Eve walked in to her seemingly empty tattooed apartment. "Baby?"

"In here." Lindsey turned on the shower to rinse his hair and get the soap off his face and mouth so he could talk.

"Baby, I did it," Eve said in a shy voice, expecting praise.

"Wait a sec—" Lindsey pleaded as he turned the shower off.

Somewhat excited, somewhat scared, Eve confessed to jumping the gun and telling Angel about the Shanshu prophecy and all the chaos that would ensue. Lindsey was furious.

"Calm down, I can explain..." Eve said apologetically, shaking. Lindsey knew that she could explain, but frankly, it didn't it make a different. She screwed up.

"Eve, I told you to wait!" Lindsey shouted as he got out of the shower, dripping with anger.

"Stella was our only move!" Eve hissed.

"That's her name?"

"I thought you'd be happy."

"Happy? Eve, you just bought us first class tickets to hell!" Lindsey kept moving and getting dressed in a hurry.

"I'll end it, okay? It's not even true, the whole prophecy thing. It will blow over, okay? Please, just stop and listen."

"You basically threatened his kid, Eve! You know what Angel will do to you for that? You yourself told me what he did to Wesley, his friend, for messing with his son. His _friend_, Eve! You just ruined our plans, possibly our _lives_ thank you very much."

"Your plan was weak, Lindsey! Angel is notscared of you!" she said, agitated.

"Oh, and I'm sure he's shaking right now, isn't he? Of you? Of your big mouth? What _is_ the plan anyway, to have him rip our heads off with his own hands?"

"No, Lindsey! But I was working up to a plan, making them fight each other to death for the Shanshu for starters. Amidst all the chaos we could take Stella, give her to the Senior Partners in exchange for your old job, your immortality. I wanted to—"

"As if Angel would ever kill that Slayer, he loves her."

"Maybe she would kill them both. Spike and Angel are killers and technically so is she."

"We should've waited, Eve... That baby was the only leverage we had, now—now we have a phony prophecy that doesn't hold any water. He _will_come after us... You're immortal, I know, but I'm not, you..." He stopped himself from insulting her, he really did love her. Lindsey picked up his bags. "I'm sorry. You should've waited. I have to go."

"That was already packed." Eve demanded an explanation.

"Yeah, yours too." Lindsey pointed to the blue bag in the corner of the room. He opened a drawer and took out some papers, between them two tickets to Costa Rica. "I was going to surprise you."

"They would have found us, Lindsey! They'll find you if you leave."

"No, they won't. I had it all under control but after your little stunt groceries will have to wait, girl. They're looking for you, not me. Unless you tell him Angel won't even know I was ever here."

Eve made a move to her packed bag but Lindsey stopped her. "Leave me alone." He kissed her hard on the lips and left Eve crying.


	4. The Eve of Battle

**Ch. 4 "The Eve of Battle"**

"We're not killing Eve!" Fred protested. "We're not even sure she's behind this at all. She could be just the messenger, it happens."

"I am sure," Gunn said.

"No you are _not_, Charles! A hunch is not good enough! She's a person," Fred argued.

"We don't know that!" Angel snapped.

"You're right, Angel, we don't know. We don't know _anything_! How about we try and settle some facts before we _unknowingly_ murder an innocent person."

"I can assure you she's not an innocent," Gunn said.

"So we're just going to murder someone without any proof? How times change."

"Fred, Eve is a bad person, a monster, whatever. It's not a hunch, it's certainty in the form of deduction. She's messing with us, we have to stop her." Gunn tried to convince Fred.

"If Eve is faking the whole thing why kill her? We're not sure of anything except that murder is our only option right now." Fred glared at Gunn.

"Could you please not say _murder_like that?" Willow added.

Fred was hurt that not even Willow was willing to listen. "I can't listen to this…" Fred walked out shaking her head and doubting her unfounded sympathy for Eve. Gunn looked sick because he hated yelling at Fred.

"Gunn, are you sure of this?" Angel asked.

"I am," he answered.

Wesley walked in to the room to find a crowd of unhappy faces.

"What's going on? What happened with Fred?"

"Wes, I think Eve is lying about everything. Could you find some proof? It's not fair we're all fearing this big thing that might not be true. We're scared of Eve? Something's not right," Gunn said.

"The prophecy is vague, but I'll tell you this, she is in all probability lying," Wes said.

"Thank you!" Gunn shouted.

Wes thought for a second then began explaining. "It's a prophecy, not an invitation. While it doesn't name Angel, whoever it is talking about, it is he or she, maybe even it, the only one it applies to. It doesn't matter who fits the bill. There are thousands of potential Slayers but every generation only one is called. The prophecy names both potentials _and_called."

"About that... We kind of changed that whole potential thing," Willow explained.

"Wait, you're saying somebody can alter the Shanshu?" Lorne asked.

"No. Like I said, the Slayer line includes the potential Slayers, the Shanshu doesn't. It belongs to the one it talks about, so either somebody is lying or somebody thinks they are telling the truth."

"Sounds like Eve," Gunn said, feeling vindicated.

"Well, this is good news, people. No big something is going to happen!" Willow tried to cheer everyone.

"Yes and no," Lorne said, thinking out loud. "I'm very happy the world isn't going anywhere, so to speak, but still, what she said about Stella being the daughter of a vampire and a Slayer, also now a vampire. What about _that_?" Lorne said awkwardly.

"We have got to find Eve," Angel concluded.


	5. A Funny Story

**Ch. 5 "A Funny Story"**

Still asleep from pure exhaustion, Buffy and Spike rested on top of a large, uncomfortable wooden table. Having held each other's hand throughout the whole violent process, their fingers were still touching.

A few hours after Lindsey left Eve alone in her apartment the tattoos and the symbols started to fade. The tattoos kept them invisible from the Senior Partners and everyone else that might be interested in their whereabouts. The worst part was watching Lindsey walk out even though he knew they would come for her.

What Eve didn't know was that Lindsey had no idea the protection would wear off so soon without his rituals. He never would have left her there to die even if in theory she couldn't actually _die_. After making a few frantic calls, Eve left the apartment in a wig and new clothes. She left everything behind, her phone, her ID and her life.

Busting through Eve's door Wesley and Gunn quickly realized that Eve wasn't there; everything else looked to be in its place. Even her cell phone sat casually on the kitchen table, all the data deleted. Without an invitation Angel had to wait outside. It was driving him mad.

While Wesley wasn't sure if Angel and Gunn would deliver the final blow, he was happy to know that Eve's life would go on for now. This not as a result of great sympathy, but because deep down he felt death was the easy way out. Living with herself was going to be the worse fate. How he was so sure of this he didn't know, he wasn't allowed to remember. But he was certain that wherever Eve was right now, she was a trembling leaf fearing the sound of her own thoughts. She deserved nothing less.

"Let's go," Angel ordered from outside.

Eve's phone started ringing. Wesley walked back to the kitchen and picked it up. He recognized the number. "Why is Harmony calling Eve?" he wondered.

Buffy gasped, waking up from a deep sleep. "Where is my daughter?"

"Waiting for you, I'm sure," answered Spike.

"Spike? Is this real?"

"Quite."

"Am I okay?"

"You tell me. How do you feel? Any nightmares, headaches or nausea?"

Buffy faked a smile and shook her head. After a few minutes of taking everything in, she started talking again. "Physically, I feel fine. Mentally, I'm conflicted, but I'm okay…and I just answered my own question. Yes, I'm back. I'm me."

Spike smiled and closed his eyes trying to catch some more sleep but Buffy kept talking. "What will we tell them?"

"Your call, luv."

"They're going to freak out, aren't they?"

"These are incredible circumstances, they can't blame us for getting the job done anyway we could. You would've died in the process of getting your own soul, they'll accept the alternative."

"They're going to freak out."

"Yeah," said Spike with a smirk.

"Spike... I just, this is really huge, what you did. You risked losing your soul to share it with me."

"Hey, I took your life. This isn't even a fraction of what I owe. What I took, Buffy, I can never give back. Not in fragments or whole. Plus, it's in good hands, or chest, or wherever it is. I'm just glad that it was useful. I'm surprised it hasn't burnt out by now. Who knew?"

"Heh. Boy, you finally got me, Spike. You killed your third Slayer."

"Oh, Buffy..."

"Thank you. I wonder if my soul is all jealous now," Buffy joked.

"Yeah, you're back."

They laughed.


	6. When the Punishment is the Crime

**Ch. 6 "When the Punishment is the Crime"**

On the other side of the phone call was Harmony, on Fred's request. Unfortunately, Harmony missed Fred's message that she had already located and talked to Eve.

"Harmony? Why are you calling this number?" Angel asked.

"I was, you know, it's okay, I'll call later," Harmony answered.

"Harm..."

"I'm just following orders, Boss. Oh wait!"

"Yes, Harmony, my orders supersede any others, so before I get even more pissed, why the hell are you calling Eve?"

"Fred asked me to call."

"I can't wait to find out why."

"Fred's been calling Eve but nobody answered, she told me to keep trying. I think she had to do something in Wesley's office."

"Harmony please go back to work." Angel hung up.

The plan was to talk to Eve. Fred had to know for sure what Eve had been doing before taking any action. Eve showed up to Fred's apartment dressed in black and wearing a platinum blonde wig. After confessing she was lying about the prophecy Eve tried to regain Fred's trust.

"I fought them for you, Eve!" Fred cried out.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's just hard to explain," Eve shouted over tears.

The only reason Eve went to Fred was because she knew she couldn't hide for long, at least Fred was going to hear her side of the story. But her side of the story was the problem.

"There's nothing to explain, Eve. You can't threaten babies."

"I never did!" She was working up to that but wisely Eve decided to leave that part out.

"Yes you did! What did you say about the daughter of a vampire and a Slayer?"

"I was just pointing it out. I mean, aren't you curious about her? But look, I am not a good person, Fred, but the whole prophecy mess, I had other intentions that were...selfish, but, if you only knew..." At first Eve thought that Lindsey's plan was going to fail and there was no way she was going to let Angel kill him for it, but now it was _her_plan going to hell, _her_life at stake.

"Your idea of morality doesn't interest me. Charles was right, whoever, whatever, you are had me fooled. I will never trust anyone again after this. You can count on it." Fred pulled one of Wesley's guns out of her purse. Eve's eyes were now full of terror; her immortality had never been put to the test.

"I can't die, Fred," she bluffed, trying to sound indifferent towards the barrel facing down to her face, promising to blow it away any second.

"After you called me I did a little research on you. I prepared for two scenarios, one in which you were an innocent being used as a chess piece, and this one." Fred was staring down at Eve so hard she felt she was going to explode.

"Why did you bring the gun?"

"Just because you can't die, Eve, doesn't mean I can't hurt you. But since you asked, I actually brought the gun for the other scenario," Fred explained.

"The other scenario? The one where I was good?" Eve asked, beside herself.

"Yes."

"You were going to kill me anyway?"

"I was going to defend you with it…"

Willow came in.

"You..." Eve said, recognizing the red headed girl.

"Yes, me. I was there when you told Angel about the Shanshu and Stella," Willow said.

"What are you going to do to me?" Eve asked, defeated.

"Nothing you don't deserve," Willow replied, then walked over and stood next to Eve. Willow slapped her across her face, hard enough to tear her lower lip.

"You can't kill me!" Eve shouted, fearing the alternatives more than anything.

Willow smiled.

"This will not be one of those times when the punishment is the crime. Your immortality means nothing to me, I _can_make you die, but I won't. You won't make murderers out of us all. You're not to going to be bothering us again, Eve. I'm going to make you disappear. "

"How?"


	7. The Vampire, Slayer

**Ch. 7 "The Vampire, Slayer"**

They waited for hours until sundown. Buffy found the new restrictions off-putting and depressing. At her side Spike contemplated, amazed and heartbroken, the Slayer's ironic fate.

"It's not easy, is it? Living forever in the night, avoiding the pretty things unless you're going to eat them," Spike said before looking for more comforting words.

"I have been living in the night since I was 16. Lately, the day had become a stranger to me, but this? Sucks."

"Speaking of which, when did you ever sleep? School in the day, slaying at night and training in the afternoon?"

Buffy took in the memories brushing her skin. "I got used to it pretty quickly; the violence, the weird, the smells and the four hours of sleep."

Spike didn't even ask her this time, he just handed the flask to her with determination. She couldn't say no this time; she drank, embarrassed to do it in front of him.

"This is the worst part..." Buffy commented.

"I know, luv. Just… eat other stuff, regular stuff. It doesn't have to be the only thing you eat."

"It's blood..." Buffy cried. Drinking blood was about the only thing she couldn't stand. Everything else she faced, knowing she had no other option.

Spike hated the sight of her crying. "You'll learn to like it."

"I disagree," she said wiping away the tears.

"Look, Angel will get you through all of this, but remember, it will be harder than it is now. You'll start discovering more and more changes, everything will be different. Right now everything is going so fast, when things slow down, you will cry harder. You will regret this, Buffy. You will hate me for doing it to you. But we can't go back. And don't ever think for a second that inside I'm not broken for you. My head starts hurting when I think of what's happened, you know I love you. There, I said it. I will hate myself to the last second of my existence because no matter what anyone says or how it came to be, you're dead."

Between sobs, Buffy looked up to meet Spike's tears. "I will never regret my daughter."

He looked at her with the deepest love and the worst pain. "Yes, you will."

"Where do you want to go, Eve? Anywhere in the world," Willow asked.

"You'll take me there?" Eve asked, confused.

"Yeah… Where will it be?"

"Costa Rica," Eve answered without hesitation. She didn't know if Lindsey was going to be there, she didn't know if she would ever find him, but that was all she had to go by.

"Listen to me, you're going to be in Costa Rica in less than 2 minutes. I promise you'll be left alone. But if you ever comeback, if you ever have anything to do with Stella, I'm not responsible for what will happen to you. If you're willing to make people want to kill you, someone will be willing to accept."

"This is your contract with Wolfram & Hart," Fred said, showing Eve the piece of paper. "Sign here."

Eve would be signing away her immortality upon her release from the company.

"You want me to sign that?"

"Yes," Fred answered.

"You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"Tempting..." Willow said.

"Very..." Fred reiterated. "The Senior Partners will ask questions. Just sign, go to Costa Rica. The longer you wait the longer we have to rethink our decision," Fred concluded.

Eve signed, Eve was gone.

Angel arrived at Fred's apartment, banging on the door.

"I know she's here! Open up now!"

Calmly, Fred opened the door.

"Where is she?" Gunn asked, walking past Fred.

"You just missed her," Willow answered.

"What happened?" Angel asked.

"She's gone. We sent her away," Willow answered.

"You did what?" Gunn couldn't believe his ears.

Trying to remain peaceful, Wesley took over the inquiry. "Fred, Willow… what did you do?"

"Literally, we sent her away, out of the country. She won't be bothering us again," Fred explained.

"I can't believe you did this! This is—" Angel was stopped by Fred.

"This is over is what it is," Fred shouted. "She will live with what she did, in a place she doesn't know, but she will live. We have no right, Angel. No right to kill her."

"It wasn't your place to decide, Fred," Angel said.

"It wasn't your call either. Just please, don't hate me," Fred pleaded.

"I understand why you did this, Fred…" Gunn thought back to when he stepped in to kill Fred's professor – Fred and Willow had done the same for all of them.

"I don't," Angel said bitterly.

"Angel, you know that anger can blind us sometimes. Stella is going to be threatened by a lot of things, normal and supernatural, you can't kill every threat," Willow explained, trying to calm him down.

Angel nodded, but still walked out.


	8. When the Ending is the Beginning

**Ch. 8 "When the Ending is the Beginning"**

Buffy was shivering as Spike knocked on Lorne's door.

"Toughen up, Slayer," he joked.

Angel opened the door, for the first time in who knows how many days, he smiled. He smiled sincerely. Buffy couldn't move; she looked at him and wondered exactly how the hell they would get to get through this. Angel walked over and hugged her. Buffy allowed herself to be lost in his embrace. Not wanting to ruin the mood, both of them decided to wait to tell the other about what had happened while they were both gone from each other's lives.

"I want to see her, Angel," Buffy said holding on to his black jacket with all ten fingers.

Spike looked at his black boots, waiting for the right time to speak or move.

Angel smiled again while leading Buffy by the hand to Stella's room. Buffy looked back at Spike, leaned over, took his hand to lead him inside. Spike almost resisted but decided he'd follow her after all, he'd follow her anywhere. Walking into the room Buffy didn't see the baby at first, she just saw the white covers flooding the nursery with purity. Stella's crib seemed to glow, Buffy's heart unable to beat, the pounding on her soul, cold hands... She would hold her baby with cold hands. She couldn't do much but cry, Angel had to cradle her so she could walk. Buffy finally stood next to the crib, the baby meeting her gaze, smiling towards her, giggling as if she understood the meaning of this very moment.

"Oh God, Angel..." Buffy kept saying as Angel held her tighter.

"Pick her up, it's okay," Angel said.

She managed to caress Stella's stomach, the soft skin, then Buffy picked up, softly cradling the baby's neck as it were an egg, her other hand protecting the baby's back. Her face fit perfectly in Buffy's tiny hands. Buffy held her, unable to look away, searching every inch for a sign of her own face and Angel's. The baby had dark green eyes and blonde hair that would no doubt get darker later on.

"Angel, 20 years from now..."

"I know..."

"We'll look exactly the same as we do now. What will she think? It's going to scare her."

"One problem at a time, Buffy. She'll grow up with us, by the time she's old enough to realize a lot of things she'll already be used to them."

"But she'll get old; we're going to watch her age..."

"Look, Buffy. We made a choice. Let's just take it day by day, okay? Look at her now, look at the way she looks at you."

"Can she even see me?"

"Of course she can."

Spike remained glued to the door frame. He wasn't even jealous.

"Spike? Come over," Buffy asked.

"She's quite beautiful," Spike commented shyly.

Angel didn't say anything after Buffy confessed how she got a soul. He just kissed her head and nodded approvingly. Inside he struggled over what that meant for the three of them. There's never an answer in sight when these questions are asked. However, understanding of the situation, Angel allowed himself to be relieved he had Buffy and Stella. Spike just did what he had to do; he would've done the same thing. This life: ever so imperfect, happiness so elusive and incomplete and confusing.

Lorne walked into his office to find Angel alone in the dark.

"He's in here!" Lorne shouted back. "Buffy's asking for you."

"Uh, I'll be there in a second."

"He'll be there in a second!" Lorne shouted back again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just thinking how I'm going to avoid...losing my soul."

"You're happy? _Perfectly_hap..."

"No. But what if something happens? What if all turns out…okay? What if Stella is safe? What if there's nothing to worry about?"

"Sounds perfect," Lorne said.

"I know!"

"There you have it! Nothing's perfect, Angel. Stella will always have enemies; that's both good and bad, well, then, that's our lives."

"This is just fascinating and heartbreaking, Lorne, what is happening to all of us with this impossible child."

"I know," Lorne agreed. "Well, let's go." Lorne clapped enthusiastically.

Before night's end Angel vowed he would tell Buffy about Connor. She had to know.


	9. How Angels Are Born

**Ch. 9 "How Angels Are Born"**

Spike said goodbye to Buffy before heading out in the night.

"Where are you going, you can't leave now," Buffy said while changing Stella's diaper. She was a natural.

Spike suppressed a smile. "I'll be back soon. I need to clear my head a little bit."

"Can't it wait?"

"No…" Spike said, chuckling.

"Oh stop it! It's just a dirty diaper."

"Evidently."

"Just make sure you bring back a gift for Stella."

"Of course! I'll bring her lots of gifts, gifts from..." Confused, Spike thought about buying stuff for a 5 month old baby girl.

"Just make it decent. She's a baby."

"I'll try. By the way, Stella Sullivan Summers is quite the name."

After putting Stella to sleep, Buffy wandered around their new house, getting to know the place. She found Angel securing windows and anywhere else where a ray of light might sneak in. Nothing had changed between them except for the fact that they were parents, Angel was still cursed. "Angel, I was wondering, do you know where Connor is? Can you see him?"

"I do know where he is," Angel said. "I wasn't supposed to, but I kind of blew it. He knows who I am now… it's complicated."

"I want to meet him someday."

Buffy was staring at Angel.

"You will. He's in college, there's Spring Break. He could probably stop by for a moment."

"Never did Spring Break," Buffy thought out loud. "Does he know about Stella?"

"Not yet. I didn't want to keep piling stuff on him, but he'll find out if he comes visit."

"When he comes... What will we tell the others?"

"I'm working on that," Angel confessed. "It'll going to be okay."

"It will..." Buffy said, still staring.

"What are you looking at?"

Buffy smiled, "She looks like you."

"Nah ah, she looks like you better."

"She has my eyes, but she looks like you. She has your hair..."

"At least we know how she'll turn out," Angel said.

"What do you mean?"

"Connor is human, Superman strong, but human. Stella will be too."

"Like a Slayer!" Buffy cheered.

"Exactly like a Slayer," Angel agreed.

"Cool."

"Yeah, for now. It's hard enough when they're teenagers… imagine raising a teenage girl with superpowers."

Buffy looked at Angel, "What about it?"

Angel chuckled nervously. "Oh, it'll be great! _You_ were great, right? You were! Of course you were! I do remember how great _you_ were, just great."

**The End.**


End file.
